Vehicle top



J. C. TERRY.

VEHICLE TOP. APPLIcATloN HLED JAN. 10. 1920.

Patented Dee. 5,1922. I

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Znvenar J. C. TERRY.

VEHICLE TOP.

APPLlcAnoN man JAN. 10, 1920.

15431950' Patented DecQ, 1922. 3 sHEETs-sHEET 3.

T'xg

Patented Den. 5, 192,2.

. i lf JOHN c. TERRY, or Lone ISLAND crrY, NEW YORK.

VEHICLE TOP.

'Application filed January 10, 1920. Serial No. 350,600.

tain new and useful Improvement in Vehif cle Tops, of which the following is a specification.

My-invention relates to vehicle tops, and more particularly `to tops or covers for automobiles of the folding type, and has forv itsobjects the production of a vehicle top which, may be easily raised and lowered, which, when loweredyor folded, will lie below the level of the upper edge of the vehicle body and be out of the range of vision of the. occupantsof the vehicle,iwhich will.

be partially automatic whereby it may be easily operated by one person, which will be securely looked in folded position, which.

will not rattle, which will be economical of construction, and which will not easily get out of order.

.A further'objectof my invention is to produce a vehicle top having means for automatically raising the same.

A further object of the invention, is to produce a device of the character described, which is extremely simple in construction, neat and attractive in appearance, thoroughly reliable and efficient in its purpose, and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view to be more fully set forth hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construction,`

combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructionr hereinafter i described in the specification andr illustrated in the accomf panying drawings considered together or separately.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving a variety of` mechanical expressions, some of which for the' purpose of illustrating the invention. are shown in the accompanying drawings.

The invention will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings, whereinV similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and then more specifically clefined and indicated in theappended claims.

In the drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of an automobile provided with my invention, the top being shown as extended;

F ig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, showing in dotted lines various positions assumed by the top;

f Fig. 3 is a rear elevation;

Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation, partly in section, of the locking rmechanism ;d

Fig.` 5 is a detail side elevation of the same; f f

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modification;iand i f= f j Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the same-.

In the drawings, v1 designates the body of a motor car'which may be of any desired type or construction. I side of the body is a rear bow 8. The legs of the bowlare jointed ata, 4j'and a lip 5 at or near the joint prevents breaking of the f joint inone direction. i

Means may be lprovided for preventing breaking ofthe joint inythe opposite direction, and lfor thatpurpose at sleeve 5a may be loosely mounted on the lower bow member. When the top is `in extended position the sleeve may be moved upward over the lip 5, and the member cannot be broken in either direction. The sleeve maybe held in locking position by -friction or vby any other desired means. A stop 5b is provided to limit the downward movement of lthe sleeve. 1 v f Pivoted to each ler.- of the bow 3 and'above the joint 4 is a lever fcomposed of two plates, one on each` side of the leg. Pivoted in the free ends of the levers 6 are the legs of a secendibow 7.l Pivoted' toleach leg of the bow 3 above the pvots of the bow 7 is an arm 8, which arms are also pivoted to the legs of4 the bow 7. v

Pivoted to the free extremities of the arms 8 are the legs of a third bow 9, to each of whichfis -pivoted an arm 10,4 one endr of f which is pivoted to the bow 7 and the free extremities of which are pivoted to the legs `of a fourth bow 1.1. A rod 12 pivotally connects the legs of the, third bow with those of the fourth. r The above described construction produces alazy-tongs arrangement of which the bow 3 is 'the anchor member.

Pivoted on each side of the rear of the ve- Pivoted at 2 at either r ments.

hicle is a strut comprising two members 13 and 14 hinged together at 15. The pivot 'of the hinge vis rigidly secured to the member 13, and has secured thereto the inner end of a spiralspring 16, thefouter-end of which is secured to the member 14.

The upper end of each strut member 13 is pivotally attached to the under side of the bow 3, and each member 13 .is attached by means of a chain or other fiexible connection 17 to a lever 18 pivoted to the under side of the bow 3 at the center thereof. The lever 18 is capable of pivotal movement longitudinally of thebody 1.

Extending .transversely of the body, and preferably inside thereof in proximity 'to the back, 'and conce'aled by the back cushion of the rear seat is a rock shaft 19 which -extends through each side of the body. Each end of the 'sha'ft is provided with a hook 20'vvhich is adapted to engage'over a 'stud 21 fcarri'ed by'the fourth bow 11 when the top in'th'e 'folded position, as Yshown in 'dotted lines at A in Fig. 2. Cooperating with 'each "stud 21 is a-spring 22. This will prevent rattling and play between the ele- -At or Jnear the center of the shaft 19 is a'n arm [23, and a spiral spring 211 is interposed between the arm and the'back of the body. The spring 24 tends to vretain the hoolrs '20 in position to engage the studs 21.

``Whefnthe bows and lazy-tong members are formed of wood, they'inay be provided lat each pivetal :point with a metallic fer- 'rule. afs shownyto 'prevent wear.

If desired, hooks 125 may vbe employed as `supplemental'means for securing the top in folded position. When'used, the hooks 25 may engage 'over the ends of thebars 8, as shown in 'dotted lines at A in The Operation is as followsrthen the top is in rfolded position as 'shown at A, in Fig. 2, the vihooks -20 are en- 'ga'ged over the studs '21, andthe hoolrs 25 engage over the bars 8 at each side of the body and the top is securely looked in folded Yposition with the 'struts 13, 14; folded transversely 'o'f'the body and resting on the support '26.

When vitii's rdesired to raise the top, the hoo'k's 25 'are cj'ast off. If 'desire'd the ho'oks 'l'm'ay'be carri'edby a 'common shaft'whereby they may be opera-ted in unison and from one 'side of'the car.

'The op'erator will now depress the arm 23 against the tension of the spring '24 and swin'gfthe hooks v20 'away from the studs 21.

l'The Springs 16 whichhave'been placed under'tension by the folding of the struts, will unwin'd and automatically bring 'the struts to the upright position shown in full lines V'in Fig. 13. 'This will raise the bows 3,7, 9 and "11 to v'the position shown in dotted lines at TB, Fig. 2.

nesmeao When in the position B, the legs of the bow 3 are broken, as shown. The operator will now press the legs of the said bow back until the lip 5 engagesthe lower meinber 'of the leg. This `will bring' the members of the legs of the bow into alignment, and they will be looked against further backward movement by the lip, and the rbow 3 will assume the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2.

The operator will now swing the lever from the positions shown in dotted lines at B, to the position shown in 'full lines. This will extend the lazy-tong frame to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the top will be in 'raised position.

To lower the top, the above described Operation is reversed, and the lever 18 is operated v'so 'as'to break'the joints between the strut members 13 and 14:, as is .indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Thi'swill cause the'top to be'lowered, .and when in desired position the .fastening 'means rare vapplied to 'rest the 'same in suchlowered position.

For use withcars having extremely long bodies, or when it is desired to leXten'd the top 'over the engine hood, a supplemental cover bow 27 may be employed. This bow is hinged as at28, and the legs are pivoted to the bow 11 as shown lin Figs. 6 and 7. lVhen 'folding the top, the bow 27 andthe cover carried thereby, is first 'folded back over the bow 11 and the top is vfolded as before.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statute, I have described the principle of 'my inventi'on together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the hest embodiment thereof, but 'I desire it understo'od that my invention is not confined to the particular form of apparatus herein shown and describe'd, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out Fin' 'other ways without departing' lfrom the spirit of .my invention.

l'laving now `described my `invention, what T claim as new and desire to secure by Let- `t'ers Patent is as followsz- 1. A. vehicle top comprising a main bow adapted to be folded and extended .and to lbe pivoted .to the vehicle, lazy tongsextendjointed, whereby the element maybe folded,

a strut pivoted to the element and adapted to be pivoted to the vehicle, said strut comprising two members hinged together, a spring for normally holding the strut members in alignment.I means 'for breaking the joint at the hinge to fold the strut, means for locking the strut in folded position, and means for unlocking the strut Whereby the spring Will move the members to aligned position and unfold the element.

3. A vehicle top comprising a U-shaped element adapted to be pivoted to the sides of a vehicle, the legs of said element being jointed, Whereby the element may be folded, a strut pivoted to the element and adapted to be pivoted to the vehicle, said strut comprising two members hinged together, a spring for normally holding the strut members in alignment, means for breaking the joint at the hinge to fold the strut, means for locking the strut in folded position, means for Unlocking` the strut Whereby the spring will move the members to aligned position and unfold the element, a lazytong oarried at each side of the element, said lazy-tongs beingl seeured together, and means for locking the lazy-tongs in folded position against the element.

This specification signed this 15th day of December, 1919.

JOHN C. TERRY. 

